A steep learning curve

So I'm back in school...kind of. I'm taking some courses via "distance education" (i.e the United States Postal Service and the Internet) in order to bolster my credential once I actually go back to work. This term (12 weeks or so) I am taking a full load - 12 credits. I'm taking a nutrition class (not bad - it's very similar to a class I took when getting my original degree so it's familiar territory), a substance abuse class (no, not on HOW to abuse substances...smart alecks), and a managerial accounting class.

What the heck was I *thinking*??? We're HOMELESS! We're in the middle of a move, I have 2 children under the age of 4 while we are cooped up in this hotel, and I barely have time to take a shower each day, let alone slog through 12 credits INCLUDING MANAGERIAL ACCOUNTING.

Add to that the fact that the company from which I ordered the textbook for the substance abuse class screwed up and (now that we are 4+ weeks into the class) I still don't have my textbook. Add to THAT the fact that the last accounting class I took was SEVEN YEARS AGO...and I didn't do that well to begin with. I think I managed a "C". I love math. LOVE IT. I do it for FUN. Really.

But accounting? Can't get my brain around it. Thankfully I have a friend in town who is a CPA and she is shaping up to be my saving grace. I'll bust my butt and be happy with a "C" and thrilled with a "B". I'm not worried about the substance abuse class either - I took a course with the same professor last term and a lot of the subject matter is similar so once I get my book, I can take off running.

But my nutrition class...let's just say my EGO will be the death of me. I just got my grade back on my first test - it was a take home test. Not hard...if you take the time to do it properly.














I didn't.


I recognized the fact that some of the questions were right out of the text so I ASSumed the answers were the same. Well...not so much. The actual answer was the same but the letter CORRESPONDING to the answer wasn't and - because my ego got in my way - I missed that little nugget of information and got 3 answers WRONG.

Add to that the fact that I didn't really READ the instructions for the short answer portion of the test and failed to see the part about only needing to answer 8 of the 11 possible questions. So I answered the ALL. Not only did I answer them all, I completely screwed up one of the questions (luckily, it was one that the professor didn't actually count toward my grade but she did point out to me how badly I screwed it up).

I need to stop ASSuming that I am smarter than the teacher. It's been my problem ever since Kindergarten. And - 9 times out of 10 - I'm wrong. Well, maybe 8 times out of 10...or 7...